Reader Discussion: What Has Been The Best Year For Video Games?

With 2013 behind us, we can all agree that it was a fantastic year for video games. Was it the best year for video games? Or is there another, more impressive year?

2013 saw new Sony and Microsoft consoles, but it also saw a slew of excellent video games that we will surely be discussing and playing for years to come. BioShock Infinite, The Last of Us, and Grand Theft Auto V all released this year, along with many other excellent games.

Other years show similar pedigrees of fantastic releases. 2004 saw the release of Half-Life 2, Doom 3, Fable, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Halo 2. 1998, another fantastic year for video games, saw the release of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, and Resident Evil 2.

Has there been better years for video games other than the examples offered above? Do you think 2014 will trump 2013? Or are you already thinking ahead to 2015? Let us know in the comments below.

So far, I think I'd have to go with 2011: Dragon Age II, Lego: POTC, Ocarina of Time 3D, White Knight Chronicles II, Arkham City, LOTR: War in the North, Skyrim, Lego: HP 5-7, Lego: LOTR, AC: Revelations. Although, as a huge Pokemon fan, 2000 was also a great year: 7 Pokemon games in one year! But I also think 2014 is going to be an awesome year--usually at the beginning of the year, there's only 2 or 3 games that I'm looking forward to, but this year, there's already 7 or 8!

As a 40 year old gamer I'd have to go with 1985. That was the Year the Nintendo Entertainment System came out in the US and that completely brought gaming to a whole new level. Up until then consoles were pretty staid and we had just come out of the video game crash. And the difference between playing games on the NES and the previous consoles was like night and day. The most exciting things happening in gaming prior to the NES was happening on the Commodore-64, which was definitely a sweet gaming platform but it was still a computer in a time when computers were still considered "techno-magic" and that intimidated a lot of potential gamers. The NES not only saved gaming it brought gaming to a whole new level and also a whole new audience. I'm not a big fan of Nintendo's consoles post SNES but as an old timey gamer I'm obliged to remember those days with nothing but fondness.

Not many people give 2008 credit for being a great year, but it was arguably the best year gaming has ever seen. Dead Space, GTA 4, MGS4,LittleBigPlanet, Mirror's Edge,Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Braid, Fallout 3, Gears 2, and AC2! All in all, 2008's a great year in gaming often overlooked

I almost can't answer. I've got to the point where I love the new games that are released, but then I look back and see the games that I played growing up and nostalgia takes over. New games are great but classics are classics forever.